Hannah Sandling runs from party scene

The London party scene will lose one of its stalwarts when Hannah Sandling, the television presenter and stylist, packs off to Argentina to be with her Uruguayan boyfriend, Bruno Varela.

Hannah SandlingPhoto: Richard Young / Rex Features

Tim Walker: Edited by Laura Roberts

9:58PM GMT 30 Nov 2009

Speaking at Saturday's Hennessy Gold Cup, she says: "I seem to spend most of my time in Argentina anyway so it makes sense. We are heading out to Uruguay for New Year. We'll spend six months of the year in Argentina and then six months in London."

Sandling, 30, has just completed a marathon across the Gobi desert and will take part in another through the Rocky Mountains in August.

"Bruno hates running," she says. "He could have found a girl with less drama but then his life would be very boring."

An atheist's grace

Anthony Seldon, the headmaster of Wellington College, was presented with a dilemma when he hosted a debate between Lord Harries, the former Bishop of Oxford, and Charles Moore, who proposed the motion "Atheism is the new fundamentalism", against Richard Dawkins and AC Grayling. Once the atheists had won by a generous margin of 1,070 to 363, the question of whether to start the dinner that followed with prayer arose.

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In the event, Seldon asked both sides to kick off the meal in their chosen fashion. Lord Harries's grace finished, in conventional manner, with a "thanks be to God".

"I then asked the atheists to say a grace," says Seldon, "and Richard Dawkins took up the challenge. 'For what we are about to receive,' he said, 'thanks be to the cook'."

What's in a name?

Sir Ian McKellen was honoured with a knighthood in 1991 but the accolade has worn a little thin, Mandrake can disclose.

The actor, 70, was distressed to be called "Sir Ian" at a recent charity event in east London.

"No please don't call me Sir, particularly in a friendly atmosphere like this one," he begged. "It is not my name – it is not as important as Ian or McKellen to me." When the name of his fellow actor Sir Ben Kingsley, who was knighted in 2001, was mentioned he smiled. "Yes, some people are very particular," he said.